


It's my own desire (It's my own remorse)

by Ineffablemurderhusbands



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Blood and Violence, M/M, Murder, Purge Night (The Purge), Racism, Social Commentary, Swearing, alternative universe, there's more dialogue in this than action
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:08:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22915999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ineffablemurderhusbands/pseuds/Ineffablemurderhusbands
Summary: "This is not a test. This is your emergency broadcast system announcing the commencement of the Annual Purge, sanctioned by the U.S government. Weapons of class 4 and lower have been authorized for use during the Purge. All other weapons are restricted.Government officials of ranking 10 have been granted ammunity from the Purge and shall not be harmed. Commencing at the siren, any and all crime, including murder, will be legal for 12 continuous hours. Police, fire, and emergency medical services will be unavailable until tomorrow morning at 7 A.M, when the Purge concludes. Blessed be our New Founding Fathers and America, a nation reborn. May God be with you all."It's Purge night and Will is stranded in the city with no weapons or transport alongside his new dog Winston.
Relationships: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Comments: 10
Kudos: 132





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so this fanfic is already completed but I'll be posting chapters every other day I think. It's inspired in the Purge movies so there's a few mentions of racism, police brutality, white supremacist shit and everything the movies touch about ok? Be warned. 
> 
> I hope you guys like it. Please leave kudos and comments if you do. 
> 
> Also this ins't beta-ed so all mistakes are mine.

Will was fucked. There was no lighter way to put it. 

He had already been running late in his path towards home because he had lost track of time, when he found the dog. In light of the holiday ahead of them, there was no way he could leave it there to be butchered by the hands of savage and lunatic people. So he took it. 

It took some time to coax the dirtied mutt into his car but when he did, it was already too late. The first siren was sounding and the streets were chaotic. Will hadn’t a single weapon in his car, apart from a little Swiss switchblade that he used when he needed to open mail. He didn’t carry a gun anymore, even if he consulted to the FBI, because he was afraid of killing someone on the job. That was the main reason why he wasn’t a cop anymore. 

Will hated the Purge holiday with all his strength. He thought it was just an excuse to get rid of the poor while the rich could indulge and get richer. Will was fortunate enough that he lived far away from the big cities so he didn’t had to encounter that many psychos but he still had a potent protective system and he usually spent the night wide awake with a shotgun surrounded by his dogs. His only relieve was that he knew his dogs would be okay during the night, since he had set the protective system before he left the house, just in case. 

“Don’t worry, Winston.” He whispered to the dog sitting besides him in the car. “We’ll survive through the night.” He patted the dog, trying to comfort it but he knew it would be hard. 

He was a long way from home.   
\--  
Au contraire to popular belief, Hannibal didn’t enjoy the Purge night. He used to host a big dinner party every year during the holiday stuffing his guests with human meat without their knowing but it grew old since it wasn’t actually illegal during that particular night. He mainly despised whoever purged, since he thought those people were just cowards for not doing it the rest of the year. He despised the pigs that littered the street practicing violence just for the sake of violence without realizing that the New Founding Fathers were just eliminating them in the process and making money out of it. 

Hannibal was the type of person that admired killers who thought about the whole process and their respective designs or the ones that hid a poetic darkness inside of them, never acting on their urges or the complete opposite, like acting violently as a release of that darkness. The hairless apes that flocked the street were mere sheep trying to pass as wolves. 

This year Hannibal promised that he would rid the world of the ones who purged. The sheep would be slaughtered by a real wolf this time. A monster would walk among them during the annual Purge and cleanse them of their sins, like they claimed to do for the ones that couldn’t protect themselves.   
That night Hannibal would do the job of Judge, Jury and Executioner and he was going to enjoy every single part of it. That night he would be their God. New Testament God, the loving and forgiving, for the innocent and Old Testament God, the wrathful, for those he deemed unworthy of saving. Hannibal was pretty sure he would find more that were unworthy during the night.   
\--  
So far Will and Winston were okay. They had been driving towards Will’s home and encountered some horrid stuff but no one had come close enough to harm them. If Will survived, he was going to have nightmares about this night for the rest of his life. Just one more to plague his decaying sanity. 

So far he had encountered cars with tied people on its roofs and dragging screaming people on the ground with chains. People wearing the most horrible types of masks covered in blood and gore from head to toe. Lunatics with chainsaws severing people in half, people dressed as the Ku Klux Klan hanging people of color from trees or burning them in crosses. Will felt his stomach lurch at the sights and his heart constricting because he couldn’t do anything to help. He didn’t have any significant weapons and he was alone against powerful groups of people who were heavily armed. If he resisted he would not stand a chance. Will asked himself what had happened to his country. He remembered when the purge did not exist, although he had been a kid at time. Sure, even then his country still had its problems, huge problems he was not going to sugarcoat it, but surely those problems couldn’t be resolved by a killing spree every year like the government claimed it did. As a profiler, Will’s job was to hunt down killers and arrest them so they wouldn’t keep doing harm. It was the complete opposite of Purge night. But even with his background he couldn’t for the life of him understand why people considered as normal in a daily basis participated in the carnage that was the purge. For him, normal and sane people couldn’t enjoy murder. That was why he didn’t consider himself sane or normal, and why Will thought the whole country was sick. 

In the end, who paid the price of the purge was the innocent and the poor. That was the simple truth. A little part of Will that he tried to squash down thought that the ones that should be really killed in refinements of cruelty were the ones who purged. He would not miss those who thrived in the suffering of innocents. 

Will had just been making a turn when a car came from nowhere and hit his side of the car hard, dragging the vehicle across the pavement for a few feet. Will’s first instinct was to brace an arm against Winston, holding him in place. In the ruckus, Will lost his glasses and hit his head but his dog was safe. He was thankful that the car hadn’t been going too fast, because if it had, he would be dead. Groaning and clutching his switchblade tightly, Will managed to leave his car by Winston’s door with the dog right behind him and went to check the other driver. The man – wearing a dreadful confederate denim vest – had a bullet wound on his forehead, the reason why he had lost control of his vehicle and why he was not going particularly fast. There was no way for Will to take advantage of the man’s car because the front was busted. His car wasn’t in top condition either and a turn of the key in the ignition of both cars told him that he wouldn’t be able to drive either. He couldn’t pop the hood and take a look because well, people were murdering each other, so his only plan was to continue by foot until he found a working car he could borrow. That was not ideal either, but it was his only chance. 

“FUCK!” He kicked the tire of his car and ran a hand through his hair. His hand came back red and he realized he had a cut on his forehead that was bleeding. Things were not looking up for Will Graham. At least the cut didn’t appear to be too deep.

He looked down at Winston and sighed. “This is not good, Winston.” The dog just kept looking at him, so Will went over to see if Mister Confederate had a gun. Of course he did, because he was a cop. Of-fucking-course he was. “Jackpot!” Will grumbled as he checked to see if the gun was loaded. It was. “God bless America or something.” He muttered and looked back at the dead guy. “Protect and serve my ass, huh?” He frowned. “Gross.” Will was a cop at heart but if there was one thing that he didn’t sugar-coated was how the police was inherently racist. It was one of the surprises he had when he first joined the force. There was a lot of good people, of course, but sometimes the bad was all that he could see. Like this racist pig. Will almost wished that he had been alive just so he could kill him by sticking his pocket knife to the man’s neck. He stood there for a moment thinking about the way his blood would flow from the artery wound when a scream near back dragged him out of his fantasy. 

He shook his head to get rid of the dark thoughts and looked back to his dog. “Ok, Winston we have to keep moving, it’s not safe out here. We need to find a car and keep out of the main streets.” He explained. “C’mon.” Will started moving and Winston followed him like a dutiful house trained dog, even though he wasn’t. The sight made Will smile. 

Hannibal had been wandering in his car but nothing had caught his eye yet. The vulgarity of the kills he had encountered so far made his stomach churn in disgust but he wasn’t willing yet to kill. Hannibal was pacing himself to something truly remarkable but he wasn’t sure if he was actually going to find it when he found himself upon a scene in a suburban neighborhood. Usually in suburban neighborhoods things were calmer, because the people who lived there had an average financial status and could invest in good security systems. Half of them hid themselves in their fortified houses the whole night and the other half divided into throwing purge parties or partaking in the purge inside the comfort of their own homes and clubs. 

That was the reason why he hadn’t expected to find a family out into the street in front of the house. The wife was tied against a tree and there were tears streaming down her face as she watched her husband eviscerate a young teenage girl with the help of his petrified and terrified looking young daughter. The dead girl was placed on top of deer antlers and the sharp ends were protruding from her torso beautifully, creating a bloody tableau. Hannibal could commend the artistry in it. The girl being eviscerated was already dead with her empty and unseeing eyes turned up into the night sky, like she had been muttering a last prayer. Hannibal knew from personal experience that she had probably been screaming and not praying when she met her demise. There was something especial in seeing the light and light disappear from someone’s eyes and something even more especial when you were the one who caused it. 

Hannibal decided right then to watch the scene unfold because he was certain that the girl on the antlers would not be the last victim from the exasperated middle-class patriarch this night. Hannibal parked his car in a shady spot on the street, far enough that they couldn’t see him but close enough that he could see everything from a privileged spot.


	2. Chapter 2

Will had been successful in his trek by the side streets and although he hadn’t found any crazies, he also hadn’t found any car he could borrow either. He was currently entering a suburban neighborhood, praying that he found at least a car so he could escape this nightmare with Winston unscathed. Going through side streets had already been slowing him down immensely on wheels, so on foot he would probably never make it home alive, especially because he lived so far away. So the plan was to find a car. Fast. 

Going through the suburb was easier because usually there wasn’t a high concentration of people purging. Well, at least out of their houses. So Will was not counting on finding the scene he encountered when he turned the corner on a seemingly calm street. The dead eviscerated girl impaled on the stag’s antlers, the father cutting the throat of his bound wife as the terrified daughter watched, the man going after his paralyzed daughter muttering about how he was going to honor every part of her as the life drained out of the mother’s eyes and her blood flowed back into the earth, feeding the tree she was bound to… The whole scene looked like it had sprout right out of one of Will’s most terrifying nightmares. Will didn’t know why he decided to act on this exact scene, looking into the consideration all of the other horrible sights he had seen so far that same night but he did anyways. Maybe it was the terror in the young girl’s eyes. Maybe it was the feeling in the back of his mind that he was being watched. 

Whatever it was, it made Will walk out of his hiding position as he told Winston to stay back with the gun in his hands. 

“Stop!” He yelled but it was already too late, the man had already taken his own daughter hostage as he used her body as a shield and pressed the sharp knight into her dainty neck. 

It was then that Hannibal decided to act. He had been watching the scene unfold with amusement in his car but something in the newcomer man’s eyes made him want to involve himself. Hannibal’s night had just started becoming interesting. 

Hannibal walked out of his car and made his way from behind as he kept an eye to the scene unfolding. They were at an impasse and Hannibal would do his best to tip the scales towards the newcomer. Something about him made Hannibal want to watch him kill someone. Something in him made him want to help him kill someone in unison. Hannibal never felt something alike in his life. Something in the man’s eyes told Hannibal that he had a great capacity to be a predator in this world of lambs and Hannibal wanted to help him achieve that potential. 

The man holding his daughter was muttering at Will with adrenaline filled eyes the same thing over and over. “See?” He whispered at Will. 

Will tried to calm him down without success. His years as a cop were doing nothing to defuse the situation and Will became clearly aware that the man was pressing the knife further into the girl’s neck, bringing forth red pearls at the pressure. He didn’t had a clear shot. As the situation progressed it never passed Will’s mind that he had been discharged from the force exactly because he hadn’t been able to pull the trigger when he needed. 

Will saw the man starting to slice the girl’s throat at the same time he noticed the approaching man behind the killer. He was wearing a vinyl transparent jumpsuit on top of an exquisite plaid three piece suit and he was holding an axe. Will only had time to think that he looked extremely like that scene from American Psycho when the man swung the axe and hit the man in the middle of his back, making him howl in pain and release his daughter, making Will finally shoot him squarely on the chest multiple times. Nine times to be precise. 

Will felt in a disassociated state as he watched the man’s body shaking with the bullets as he fell down to the ground, still managing to mutter a “See?” through his scarlet pouring lips. Will watched as the light left the man’s eyes and only then he sprang into action, going after the bleeding girl on the ground, not caring if the man in the murder onesie was there to kill him too. 

The girl was lying on the floor, grasping at her bleeding throat as her panicky eyes stared in fright at Will. “I’m not gonna hurt you.” He whispered at her as he placed a hand on her wound. “I’m here to help.” 

Will startled as the man sidled next to him on the ground as he pushed his hand away and wrapped his hand on the girl’s neck, stopping the bleeding more efficiently. Will looked at the man. He was older than Will but not by much. His skin was tanned, his hair was light colored but greying and he had amazing cheekbones and full lips. His eyes were dark but from certain lighting appeared maroon, like dried blood. ”The wound is superficial, she’s going to live.” He announced. His accent was eastern European but Will couldn’t place it. “Don’t worry, I’m a doctor.” 

Something about the way the doctor was grasping at the girl’s throat and her blood marring his tanned skin made a shiver go down Will’s spine. His instincts were yelling at him that the man was dangerous. 

“Do you have a medical kit inside the house?” He asked the girl, who tried to talk but he shook his head. “Don’t try to talk yet, I have to suture your neck.” 

The girl nodded her head and the man turned to Will for the first time that night. 

“Help me bring her inside.” He said and the both of them raised the girl in their arms. Will had the presence of mind to whistle to Winston, who had stayed back as he asked and the dog ran towards them, entering the house. The house was in a complete disarray, with clear sights of a struggle. Will looked for a security system but couldn’t find one as the Doctor pushed the items from the dinner table and placed the girl on top of it. “Can you please look for the medical kit?” He asked Will. “I don’t want to take my hand out of her wound.”

Will nodded and went looking for the bathroom, he found it and the kit and came back to the kitchen where the man had cleaned the girl’s neck of the blood with water. “Here.” Will placed the kit on top of the table. His voice was rough and his hands were trembling from the adrenaline. He realized his glasses had been sprayed with blood so he took them out and placed them on the kitchen sink, to wash it later. 

“I’m Hannibal.” The man introduced himself as he opened the kit one handed. 

“Will.” He responded in a gruff voice. 

“Good work back there.” He complimented and Will covered up a wince with a cough. 

Hannibal then started to clean the wound on the girl’s neck and suture it as she winced. “Why did you help?” Will asked curiously. The man didn’t strike him as the empathetic type. 

“You looked like you needed it.” He simply said. The man’s hands were steady as a surgeon’s even after swinging an axe at another human being. His face was carefully blank. 

“You don’t strike me as an empathetic person, Hannibal.” Will spit out. 

“And how do I strike you as, Will?” He caught Will’s eyes momentarily but averted them back to the job at hand. 

“I haven’t figured it out yet.” He said. “But I will, eventually.” 

The corner of Hannibal’s lip curled into a tiny smirk. “Please, tell me when you find out.” 

“You’ll be the first to know.” He said. 

Hannibal finished the suture a few minutes later and placed a bandage on the girl’s neck. She had been wincing at the sutures the whole time but she stood her ground the whole time and Will felt a strange fatherly pride towards her. 

“How are you feeling?” He asked her. 

“Better.” She whispered. Her voice was hoarse but Hannibal reassured them that her vocal cords hadn’t been damaged and she could speak freely. “Thank you.” 

“What’s your name?” Will asked, refraining from bending down to kiss her forehead. He had just killed her dad, it wouldn’t be wise to act like her father, even if Will could feel the man’s mind already swirling in his. 

“Abigail.” She whispered. “Abigail Hobbs.” 

“Why’s your house hasn’t a security system?” He asked. 

“We just moved.” The girl said. Her eyes were welling up. “My father hadn’t called the company yet. Now I know why.” Twin tears escaped from her eyes. 

“I’m sorry for your loss, Abigail.” Hannibal whispered to her. His voice was soothing and deep, it rumbled against Will’s chest and made a living there. 

“He killed my best friend.” She said. “Then my mother. Nothing would stay in Garret Jacob Hobbs’ path until he killed me. Except you two.” 

A lull in the conversation appeared before Hannibal interrupted the silence. 

“Do you want me to take a look at that?” Hannibal asked nodding his head towards Will’s head wound. 

“I’m fine.” Will grumbled as he rummaged through the medical kit and found a Band-Aid, sticking to his forehead cut with a wince. 

They’ve heard gunshots outside, startling the three out of their musings. Winston’s ears went up at the close sound. He had stayed sitting in a corner close to Will, unmoving as they fussed over Abigail until now. “This house isn’t safe for us to stay.” Will sighed. It would be so easy to stay inside the house until dawn broke and the purge ended but it wasn’t that simple. The house didn’t have any security which meant they were vulnerable even if it was quiet in the suburb and the doors locked properly. Anyone who passed on the street would see that the house wasn’t secured and then they would be sitting ducks. Also Will didn’t want to stay trapped in a tiny space with Hannibal either. He didn’t trust him. “Pick up any weapons and provisions you can find.” 

“I don’t want to stay here anyways.” Abigail looked around and shivered. 

“Abigail, does your father has a car by any chance?” Will asked. 

“Yes, he has a truck. It’s in the back.” 

Will nodded, feeling relieved and lucky. That was until they went to the back and found the tires of the truck completely empty. 

What Will didn’t knew was that Hannibal was the one who had slashed the tires before hitting Garrett Jacob Hobbs with the his own axe. He wanted to have time to dissect Will so he made sure that they would not have an appropriate transport. He also kept his mouth shut about his car, parked just around the corner and ready to be used. Hannibal wasn’t worried if someone totaled his car, it was not his lovely Bentley anyways. 

“Shit!” Will hissed as he kicked the empty front tire of the truck. 

“No luck?” Will jumped as he heard Hannibal’s voice just behind him. He hadn’t heard him coming at all. 

“The tires are slashed.” He said turning around to see Hannibal standing very close to him. It was unnerving. Hannibal was a weird guy and that was coming from Will, who was self-titled the king of being weird. 

“Must have been Garrett Jacob Hobbs.” Hannibal said. 

“Perhaps.” Will squinted his eyes at Hannibal. “What do you do for a living, Hannibal?” 

“I’m a psychiatrist.” He simply said. “I used to be a surgeon, that’s why I knew what to do to Abigail’s wound, if that’s why you’re asking.” 

“Of course you are.” Will huffed out, looking at somewhere over Hannibal’s shoulder.. “It’s just my luck that I’m stuck in the purge night with a psychiatrist of all people.” 

“Not fond of psychiatrists or eye contact are you?” Will could hear the little infuriating smirk in Hannibal’s voice but when he looked at the doctor’s lips they were pressed together. 

“I’m not fond of being analyzed.” He confessed. “Both of those things tend to do it.” 

“And why are you not fond of being analyzed, Will?” Hannibal asked. 

Will paused for a moment and Hannibal watched in delight as Will’s blue eyes darkened. “I’m scared of what they’ll find.” He muttered darkly under his breath but Hannibal heard the confession anyways. He was going to say something else but he was interrupted by Abigail’s footsteps. Winston was right behind her, like her watch dog. 

“Have you got the provisions?” Will turns his attention to the girl. 

“Yes.” She croaks out. She was holding a bag and she opened so they could look inside. There were water bottles, snacks and a medical kit. There were also several hunting knives. Will took two, a big one and a small one. “My dad used to hunt.” She said, looking down. “But I didn’t find his shotgun.” 

“That’s ok.” Will didn’t refrain from patting her head fondly. He tucked the big knife in his waistband next to the gun and the other knife he tucked into his boot. Abigail did the same. “We should be going. It’s a long way to Wolf Trap.” 

‘That’s where you live?” Abigail asked and he nodded. Will turned to Hannibal, who had been watching the scene. 

“We thank you for your help, Hannibal.” He said, staring at the Doctor’s chin. 

“I’m coming with you.” Hannibal declared and Will was so startled by it that he looked straight up into Hannibal’s dark eyes. 

“What? There’s no need!” Will said. “Abigail and I can take care of each other.” 

“I have no doubt of that.” He said sincerely. “But she’s my responsibility too, Will or have you forgotten that I also helped in killing her father?” Will didn’t wince but he wanted to. “I would offer my house as a refuge but unfortunately I live all the way in Baltimore.” 

It wasn’t exactly all the way, just a few hours ahead of Will’s house but it was still further away from Abigail’s house and thus not ideal for a night such as this. 

“Fine.” Will huffed out. “But stay where I can see you.” 

“Don’t you trust me, Will?” Hannibal asked as they made their way to the street. Hannibal stopped and yanked the ax from Garrett Jacob Hobbs’ back unceremoniously. 

“Not a single bit.” Will answered. 

The first few minutes were spent in total silence. Hannibal stayed close and in Will’s line of sight as they walked but Will could few Hannibal glancing at him from time to time. 

“What?!” He finally asked, tired of Hannibal’s gaze. 

“Why are you out on such a night, Will?” He asked. “You don’t strike me as someone who enjoys purging.” 

“I don’t.” Will responded. 

“So, why?” Hannibal asked again and Will sighed. 

“I rescued Winston and when I realized the sirens were already echoing.” He ran a hand through his chaotic hair. “My car was hit and I’ve been stranded since, trying to make it back to my house.” He explained and then stared at Hannibal’s murder onesie on top of his three piece suit. “Why are you purging tonight?” 

“I’m not purging.” Hannibal responded simply. “I think the purge is incredibly dreadful and just an excuse to exterminate the lower classes.” 

Will almost stopped his walking in surprise. He would never expect those words coming out of Hannibal’s refined mouth. Will had first stereotyped Hannibal as a rich asshole who went out on purge nigh to be “cleansed” by blood. Now that he looked closer, he was seeing all the walls that Hannibal had. He was surprised that he agreed with Hannibal on the subject of the purge. They both thought it was just an excuse for the extermination of the poor. At least Hannibal was a bit reasonable in that aspect, even if Will still thought he was a pretentious asshole. 

“I have to agree.” Will said. 

“See, we’re not so different you and I.” Hannibal commented. 

“Somehow I think that is not true at all.” 

“Well, I hope to change your mind until the end of this night.” Hannibal said and Will thought it sounded a bit ominously. 

They kept their way through the side streets because it was safer, Abigail walked forwards with Winston on her side and Will thought the scene was quite endearing for a wretched night such as this. They were on high alert, but apart from some gunshots and screaming far away they were mostly safe. 

“I reckon you hadn’t killed anyone before?” Hannibal asked when the silence had become stifling. 

“No I hadn’t.” Will replied through gritted teeth 

“And how that made you feel?” Hannibal asked. 

“Do not psychoanalyze me. You won’t like me when I’m psychoanalyzed, Doctor Lecter.” He said forcefully as he stared at Hannibal. 

“I’m not psychoanalyzing you, dear Will.” He responded. “I’m merely curious. You almost emptied all of your bullets into Garrett Jacob Hobbs body when one would have sufficed just fine.” He stated exactly what was running through Will’s mind. It was like hearing his inner thoughts out loud and he didn’t like it. “For someone who didn’t go out to purge tonight, it sure looked like you were purging something.” He said with a pensive look on his face. “How do you feel about killing?” 

“It’s the ugliest thing in the world.” Will responded immediately, like it was a lie he told himself so many times that it had become the truth. 

“For me death can be beautiful.” Hannibal responded simply. “It can make us feel powerful, just like God does. Tell me, Will, do you think God feels powerful when he makes a ceiling collapse in a church where His worshipers are reunited?” 

“God is all-powerful so I think he feels powerful all the time.” Will responded. 

“That’s what killing does to the human being.” Hannibal said. “It makes us feel godly and righteous. It makes us feel good.” 

“I don’t think that’s true.” Will said. 

“No? So you didn’t feel righteous when you killed Abigail’s father?” Hannibal asked. 

“Yes, but it was a different situation.” He said with a frown. 

“Was it?” 

“Yes, I was defending Abigail!” 

“So you’re telling me that you didn’t feel great when you took her father’s life to save hers?” Hannibal was staring at Will like he could see his very soul. 

Will hesitated on giving his reply and that was answer enough. He had felt great when he killed Abigail’s father. And Will wasn’t sure if he felt great because he had saved her life or because of some other nefarious reason. He decided to deflect the attention to someone else. 

“What do you think it’s going to happen to her?” He asked, motioning his head towards Abigail. 

“I gather that Abigail is tough, she’ll be fine with good counseling.” 

“It wasn’t the first time her dad killed.” Will confessed. 

“No, it wasn’t.” Will was surprised that Hannibal had seen it too. He was usually the one who realized things that no one did. 

“How do you know?” He asked. 

“I used to help in cases with the FBI.” Was all that Hannibal responded, but somehow Will was certain that it wasn’t all of Hannibal’s insight in the matter. 

“Me too.” He said. “I am a FBI profiler. Or used to be.” 

“That’s why you’re so insightful.” He said. Will did not tell him about his empathy disorder. 

“I’ve seen a scene like that before.” Will continued. He didn’t know why he was opening up to a man he was sure was dangerous but something about Hannibal made it easy to confide in him. Maybe it was the psychiatrist thing. “The Minnesota shrike.” He whispered. “We never knew how he lured in his victims.” 

“Now you know why, I assume.” Hannibal said while looking at Abigail, still ahead of them and unaware of the conversation.

“I do.” He whispered somberly. Abigail had aided her father in picking up the victims that looked remarkably like her.

“So you’re aware that she is going to be fine after this.” Hannibal said. 

“I am.” He said and the subject was dropped, reining the silence between the two once again. 

Everything appeared calm in the suburbs for now but Hannibal knew better. He was aware that they were being followed since they left Abigail’s home and the man tailing them was waiting for the perfect moment to struck, unaware that he had been made. Hannibal was waiting for the perfect moment too. The perfect moment to use this in his favor. Will was too interesting to pass up the opportunity.


	3. Chapter 3

Thirty minutes later Will proved Hannibal right in his assessment when he said:

“I know what you are.” Will whispered so Abigail who still walked ahead of them with Winston wouldn’t listen. 

“Pray tell, dear William. What am I?” Hannibal asked, letting a little smirk grace his lips. 

“You’re a killer.” Will muttered with a shiver going up his spine. 

“Aren’t we all killers during this night? You included.” 

“Yes.” He whispered back. “But you’re not a purge killer. You’ve done this before, you’re a killer regardless of the purge. Like Abigail’s father.”

“I’m nothing like Garrett Jacob Hobbs.” Something dangerous flashed behind Hannibal’s eyes and Will had the instinct to step back but he didn’t. 

“I know. You’re worse.” Will stared into the deep pools of Hannibal’s dark eyes and saw nothing. That scared him more than anything because Will was used to seeing too much. Normal people told a lot with their eyes without them knowing. Someone who didn’t say anything was dangerous. Will couldn’t figure Hannibal out entirely and that scared him. 

“How can you tell?” Hannibal asked, seemingly completely calm about the whole ordeal. 

“I’m really good at reading people.” Will said. “Pathologically good at reading people.” He reinterred. “I can’t read you.” 

“Does that frighten you?” The implied question was – Do I frighten you? 

“A bit.” He was sincere because somehow he knew Hannibal would know if he lied. “But I’m interested.” 

“Good.” Hannibal smiled showing his pointy canines. “One does hope to entertain.” 

“Look!” They were interrupted by Abigail who called out to them. “There’s something ahead.” She pointed to where they could see a bonfire much more ahead in the street.

“Fuck.” Will whispered. The bonfire closed off the whole street, their only way to get further ahead without going back. Will called Abigail and Winston back as they all hid behind a few bushes to try to see what expected them ahead. Hannibal discreetly looked back to see where their possible assailant was. The man had also stopped so the bonfire wasn’t his doing and he wasn’t planning to attack yet. “We can’t go through it without knowing what’s on the other side.”

“I’m surprised it hasn’t gathered more purgers.” Hannibal said.

“Possibly because the purgers are the bonfire.” Abigail whispered in a trembling voice and Will and Hannibal looked back towards the fire. The girl was right. Upon second notice the bonfire was in fact a huge totem on fire made of body parts. It was truly haunting and impressive. 

“So it’s a trap.” Hannibal stated matter of factually. 

“How many nutjobs are in this goddamned city?!” Will exclaimed in irritation and disbelief.

“We have to go back.” Abigail said.

“If we go back we’ll have to pass through into the middle of the city. It’s too crowded and risky.” Will shook his head. “We need to go through there.” 

“We’ll go in blind.” Hannibal said. “There’s no way of knowing what’ll expect us once we go around the totem.” 

“I am completely aware of this Hannibal, thank you for pointing it out.” Will grumbled back sarcastically. Usually Hannibal was completely against rudeness but something about Will made him find it endearing, like a puppy growling at a lion. 

“What is the plan?” Abigail asks, looking at them for guidance. Winston keeps staring stonily ahead like nothing fazes him. Will is really proud of his dog at the moment. 

Will fumbles for a while, unable to think of a good plan. Without knowing what they are up against was impossible for him to figure it out how they could go through this unharmed. 

“I think it would be wise if we split.” Hannibal says, making Will and Abigail glance at him. “You, Abigail and Winston should go ahead while I walk in later as a surprise element.” 

“I don’t trust you enough to ensure you with anything much less my life or Abigail’s for that matter.” Will soon responded. “There’s no way we’re doing this.” 

“I trust him, Will.” She whispered softly as she placed a hand on top of Will’s, making him look at her. 

“Abigail, you can’t be serious.” He whispered back. 

“I am. He helped save me as much as you did. I trust him.” She said seriously. “I trust him as much as I trust you.” 

“You shouldn’t trust me either.” He warned. “You barely know me.” 

“But I do.” She whispers to him fervently. “I do trust you, Will.” 

“Abigail could be considered the sanest of us all, dear Will.” Hannibal whispered from behind him. “Now, tell me, what do you see when you look at this carnage?” 

As Hannibal asks, Will makes himself really look at the human totem, closing his eyes as he feels the pendulum swing. “He’s been killing from years to create this, not just tonight. It’s not completed yet, he’s waiting for the grand finale.” Will opens his eyes and finds Hannibal and Abigail staring at him. “He’s waiting for the right person to go on top.” 

“Outstanding.” Hannibal whispers reverently and Will feels himself blush; 

“I should go alone first.” Will says. 

“No!” Abigail wails. 

“He’s right.” Hannibal says. “He’ll be expecting only one person and Will has a gun.” 

“He won’t attack right away.” Will says to her. “He’ll want to brag and I will be able to shoot him first.” 

“How can you be sure?!” She asks. 

“Now it’s your time to trust me.” Will says to her. This time he doesn’t refrain from caressing her face softly. Then he stares at Hannibal. “If something happens to me…” He doesn’t finish his phrase. 

“You have my word that I’ll take care of Abigail.” He nods. “But nothing will happen to you.” 

With another nod, a command for Winston to stay close to Abigail and a check to his gun, Will takes off from their hiding place and towards the human totem still on fire. The smell of burning flesh and meat only get stronger the closer he gets from the sight. Will prides himself in having a tough stomach but he feels it churning now like he was a rookie back in Louisiana on his first day. He stops for a minute and breaths through his mouth, willing the nausea to back down. When he feels properly restored he resumes his trek, charging forward with the gun in his hands. With a last look behind, he turns the corner around the totem and disappears behind the flames.


	4. Chapter 4

Hannibal was incredibly interested in Will Graham. He was drawn to him since the first time he saw him. He couldn’t explain why at first but now he could. It was like his heart was yearning for another. An equal. Hannibal had already divested himself from such notions but it appears he has finally find his match. And he would be damned if he would let him go after this night. Will still needed to go through his becoming and Hannibal would be there every step of the way. His plan had been set in motion as soon as he laid eyes on Will and was smoothly running its course. The grand finale would not be this totem killer, Hannibal would make sure of that. With that thought, he motioned to Abigail and they followed Will into the fire with Winston firmly next to them. 

The first thing Will saw when he turned the corner with his gun in his hands was corpses. Dozens of bodies littered the street ahead of him, some already in decomposition with flies flying around them but a few of them were quite fresh, dismembered and with bullet marks. Will stepped forward to look closer but that was when he heard the sound of the safety of a gun being undone behind him. He soon felt the nuzzle of a big gun in the back of his skull, pressing firmly against his head. If he had to guess by the bullet holes on the victims it was a shot gun. 

“Drop the gun.” He heard behind him and Will refrained from cussing, immediately dropping his gun on the ground. “Now kick it away.” The man said and Will did what he was told. The man stepped forward and patted his waist, finding his hunting knife and throwing it away too. Will still had his little pocket knife but that was it. He depended on Hannibal and Abigail now. 

The man took the gun away from Will’s head and whispered. “Don’t do anything stupid or I will blow your head off.” He warned as he brusquely turned Will around to face him. “Oh yes, you will do just fine.” The man gave a dangerous smile as he appraised Will from top to bottom. “Maybe you’re the one that I was waiting for to complete my work. Others were found incompetent.” He glanced at the bodies around them with disdain. “But you look promising.” 

“The fire is to beckon anyone near so you’ll finally place someone on top of the totem.” Will said in realization, the last piece of the puzzle fitting together. 

“Smart. Smarter than those before you.” The man said. “I’ve been killing for years during the purge night and tonight I will finish my work.” 

“Why today?” Will asked. Trying to buy time before his head was blown off. 

“I have finally found the last piece.” He said. “You.” 

The next events happened pretty fast and Will was only able to see everything because he had a privileged position. Winston came out of nowhere and bit the totem killer on the leg, causing him to yelp in pain. Winston did not let go of the man’s leg even as he turned his body around to shoot him causing Will to step forward as he fumbled for his pocket knife. He would never let his dog be harmed, Will would die before letting that happen but he didn’t need to worry because soon Abigail was there commanding Winston to let go and stabbing the man through the arm with a huge hunter knife, causing him to drop his weapon as the blade pierced his arm through and splashed blood in Abigail’s shirt. The girl kicked the shotgun towards Will as the man dropped to his knees and found himself face to face with Hannibal. Abigail’s face had been terrified but resolute as she stabbed the killer’s arm but Hannibal’s face was blank as he swinged the axe and hit the man’s torso. Hannibal could have gone straight for the head but he didn’t. He wanted the man to suffer. 

Although Hannibal’s face was blank as the blood hit his impressive cheekbones, his eyes were on fire. Will got a glimpse at the real Hannibal beneath his person suit and he wasn’t sure if her was afraid or aroused. He watched as Hannibal kept hitting the man with the axe until he stopped screaming, his blood staining Hannibal’s face and plastic suit. Finally, Hannibal chopped off the man’s head and went over to the totem – that had a conveniently placed ladder nearby – placing the killer’s head on top of it. “His work is finished now.” He said as he came down the ladder and waited until the fire reached the head, finally having the whole structure on fire, like the killer intended. 

“The fire is a bit much.” Abigail said, trying to wipe down the blood from her shirt, unsuccessfully. 

“I personally would have added more flowers for symbolism.” Hannibal muttered, wiping his face down with a handkerchief. 

They watched the structure burn for a while in complete silence, just marveling at what they had done together. 

“We should go.” Will said picking up the shotgun. He couldn’t find his hunter knife or the other gun anywhere beneath the corpses and the fumes from the human totem were starting to make him sick again. The shotgun would be fine, he told himself. It was almost dawn anyways. He watched as Hannibal peeled his plastic suit and tossed it aside, leaving him in his three piece suit. He looked like an ethereal vision between the corpses and the fire. A merciless god ready to strike them down with his ire. Bringing forth brimstone and death upon the land. He never looked more beautiful. “Aren’t you afraid of messing up your suit?” 

“Perhaps, but it’s a small price to pay for getting rid of that man’s blood on me.” He wrinkled his nose in disgust, like a prissy Victorian woman. 

Will rolled his eyes at him. “Let’s get moving.” He said, stopping by Winston to caress his head and tell him what a good boy he was. Hannibal picked up his axe again but Abigail left her hunting knife behind, still buried in the killer’s arm. They made their way out of there, leaving the gruesome scene behind. 

It was a couple of hours to dawn already and they were encroaching their destiny when Will spoke up again. 

“So what’s your brand of pathology?” He asked Hannibal with a grimace. 

“Pardon?” Hannibal looked back at him. 

“You can drop the act, I’ve seen the real you.” He said. 

“Have you?” Hannibal asked with a slight smirk. “I’ve always wanted to be seen by an equal.” 

“We’re not equals, Hannibal. I’m nothing like you.” Will hissed out. 

“You are forgetting that I’ve also seen the real you, Will.” He says. “We’re more alike than you think. Or that you let yourself be”

Will stayed silent and Hannibal let his lips curl. The man was still following them and Hannibal felt a static in the air, like he was about to strike but not quite yet. They still had time. 

“Is it safe to assume that you are asking me what’s my MO as those in law enforcement would say?” Hannibal finally asked and Will merely nodded. “I abhor rude people.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“It means that I find that one should try to eat the rude.” He gave a little genuine smile and Will could see his sharp canines glint in the moonlight. 

“You’re eating them.” Will mumbled, feeling horrified that he wasn’t feeling horrified. “You’re talking about cannibalism.” 

“It’s not cannibalism if I don’t find them my equals, they’re merely pigs to me.” He made a movement that could be considered a shrug, if someone like Hannibal Lecter merely shrugged. 

“Am I a pig to you?” Will couldn’t help but ask. 

“I’ve already told you that I find you my equal, Will.” 

“What about Abigail?” He asked, eyeing the girl walking ahead of them. 

“Abigail is special, I feel like she could be molded into something great.” He responded. 

“You didn’t answer my question.” Will noted. 

“I didn’t.” 

“If you touch her…” Will threatened in a menacing voice as they stopped walking. Will approached Hannibal, standing inches away from him as he stared straight into Hannibal’s eyes. 

“I won’t touch her unless you give me reason to.” He responded. “I am quite fond of Abigail as well. We’ve killed her father, she’s our responsibility now. We are her fathers from now on.” 

“I killed her father.” Will stepped back, grumbling. “You just helped.” 

“I helped nonetheless so his death is also on my conscience.” Hannibal said. 

“I have trouble thinking that you have a conscience at all.” 

“I do.” Hannibal responded, although Will’s response had been rhetorical. “Especially regarding young girls. They usually remind me of my little sister.” 

“You have a sister?” Will asked. 

“Used to.” Hannibal responded in a somber tone.

“What happened to her?” Will asked. 

Hannibal debated not telling the truth but he knew that if he wanted to gain Will’s trust he could not lie about this. It was a crucial move that he should remain completely honest because Will would know if he lied. And Hannibal wasn’t keen in losing Will’s trust. 

“She was murdered.” Hannibal simply replied. 

“I’m sorry, Hannibal.” Will said sincerely. “You two were close?”

“I was a sort of a parental figure to her when we were young.” He said. “Our parents died when we were very little so I assumed the role of her primary caretaker, even if we went to live with our uncle and aunt.” 

“What happened to her?” Will couldn’t help himself. He needed to know. He was usually extremely good in reading people but Hannibal’s face was like a perfectly fitted mask. He couldn’t tell what he was thinking but he could guess that the reason Hannibal was a killer now had to do in part with the death of his sister. 

“One day she went missing.” He started. “We were incredibly wealthy so our state and grounds were quite sizable but we were accustomed with it since we would always play in the same parts. We looked for her everywhere but never in our lives would we’ve imagined that she was in danger. Lithuania was going through a civil war but our grounds were safe, or so we thought.” He stopped talking for a moment to gather his thoughts, not that he really needed since the memory was engraved in his mind for as long as he lived. “While I was searching for her I found a few soldiers in the woods near our home so I asked them if they had seen her. They told me they hadn’t seen her but they invited me to eat with them by the fire and after they would help me look for her. I didn’t think anything of it because they were soldiers so I said yes.” Hannibal looked away from W ill’s azure eyes and stared ahead to where Abigail and Winston were going. “I dined with them and I remember that the food was delicious.” Will didn’t want to be right about his building theory at the moment but he had a sinking feeling that he was right. He usually always was. “After we were finished I asked them if we could go find her now because it was getting late. They laughed and laughed and I didn’t understand a thing before one of them threw me a little piece of fabric. It took me a moment to notice it was from Mischa’s yellow dress, the same one she was wearing when she went missing. I started yelling at them and asking where she was and they only laughed harder. And that was when I knew.” 

“They fed her to you.” Will completed and Hannibal nodded. “Please tell me you killed them.” 

“I did.” He nodded once. “I did to them exactly what they did to her.” Hannibal’s eyes flashed and Will felt a tinge of something deep in his core. He wasn’t sure if it was fear or lust. Or maybe a combination of both. 

“They deserved it.” Will whispered to him, like he was uttering a secret. 

They walked in silence for a little while longer as they heard to the far away music of carnage that this night entailed. 

“So that was when your pathology started.” Will breeched the subject again, not being able to help himself. 

“I’ve always been prone to cruelty.” Hannibal replied sincerely. He wasn’t sure why he was being so forthcoming and honest with Will about his inclinations but he was sure if someone could understand him, that someone was Will Graham. “But if you’re asking if this was the pivot point for me to start feeding on human flesh, you’re right about your assumptions.”

“But no matter how many people you kill and eat, no meal compares to that one you had in the woods.” Will said, finally cracking the code that was Hannibal Lecter, or at least part of it. 

“Now who’s psychoanalyzing whom, dear William?” Hannibal smirked at him and they exchanged a knowing look. 

“I think this car is working.” Abigail’s voice pulled their gaze from each other as they looked at where she was. The girl was indeed standing in front of a car who appeared to have been ditched. Will and Hannibal approached the vehicle carefully while holding their respective weapons in case it was trap. The car’s windows were shattered and there was blood in the driver’s seat. Will glanced at the asphalt to see if there was any tire marks. There was. 

“Apparently someone was following our driver.” He said. 

“He was dragged away.” Hannibal stated as he examined the marks on the grass. “We should go.” He was still aware of the man following them. The man hadn’t made a move since they stopped and he didn’t appear like he was ready to attack them yet. “By car we’ll reach Wolf Trap just in time for dawn.” He made sure to say the name of where they were going loudly so the man could hear. Hannibal still hadn’t given up on a little action. 

Will merely nodded and they made their way to the car with Will on the driver’s seat. He didn’t even wiped the seat to sit down. Abigail and Winston sat at the back and Hannibal sat in the passenger seat. 

“Ok, so the car still has quite a few of gas.” Will said as he turned the ignition. The car started rumbling. “We’ll probably be able to reach Wolf Trap before it ends.” 

Hannibal gave a last look behind them to see what the man was doing. He was nowhere to be found. Somehow Hannibal was sure that would not be the last time he saw the man. 

The drive was mostly quiet. Abigail immediately fell asleep while holding Winston in the back seat and Hannibal and Will remained silent. Somehow the quiet space of the car was less of a sharing space than the dangerous street. Hannibal didn’t mind. He could feel the expectation building beneath his skin. Something big was coming. Will was close to his becoming and Hannibal couldn’t wait for it. 

“So, what we’ll do about Abigail after the night is done?” Will asked after a while of silence. 

“Well, she’s not a minor.” Hannibal said. “She can decide for herself what she’ll do.” 

“What about that talk that we’re responsible for her now?” He glanced quickly at Hannibal before focusing on the road again. So far they had encountered a few cars on fire but nothing too troublesome. Will was guiding them through side streets but they had already covered more than half the way, so they were on the right path to reach Will’s house just before dawn and this nightmare of a night would be over. 

“We are.” Hannibal nodded. ‘But ultimately it’s still her choice. After this night is over and she’s safe, she might not want to stay with the people who killed her father.” 

“Somehow I don’t think Abigail will hold that over our heads.” 

“She’s an extraordinary girl, isn’t she?” Hannibal smiled slightly as he watched the reflection of the sleeping girl in the side mirror.

“Catching feelings, Hannibal?” Will teased with a half-smile. 

“Hardly.” He said but he knew that Will was aware he was lying. He was quite fond of Abigail but it was nothing compared for what he felt for Will. He would slay her without a doubt if it meant having Will all to himself. 

“Do you have plans for her?” Will asked with a frown. The question he really wanted to ask was “What are you intending to turn my daughter into?” 

“Nothing too drastic.” Hannibal reassured him. “I think she could become something great and I intend to help in her becoming.” As I intend to help you, Hannibal thought, but didn’t say. 

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Will muttered. 

“Well, we’ll wait to hear what her thoughts will be on the matter.” Hannibal said. 

After that they spent the rest of the trip in silence with only Abigail’s little snores to fill the silence and Winston’s watchful gaze over them. Hannibal took a closer look to the side mirror and saw a truck following them from far away. He hid his pleased little smile from Will. Now what remained was the wait.


	5. Chapter 5

The drive was not eventful. They saw a great deal of horrible things on the way but nobody messed with them and for that Will was grateful, he felt like the night was finally over. He was wrong, of course. They had one more trail to face but he was unaware of it. They’ve reached wolf trap just before morning, a whole hour before the Purge would end. Will parked the stolen car just outside the entrance that led to his place. 

“Home sweet home.” Will said with a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. He looked over to the back seat but Abigail and Winston were still asleep so it was just him and Hannibal. 

“We should wake them.” Hannibal said as he watched them asleep. 

“Just let them sleep a few more minutes, they had a rough night.” Will said as he got out of the car, being followed closely by Hannibal. 

“The night isn’t over yet, Will.” Hannibal said. “Your home is quite far away from civilization.” He noted. 

“A pretty obvious observation, Doctor Lecter.” Will replied with a smirk. The sound of the gravel beneath their feet as music to Will’s years and it kept him grounded. 

“Well, you did say to me that you don’t like being psychoanalyzed.” Hannibal replied also with a smirk. “This is me being facetious and letting you fill in the blanks yourself.” 

Will snorted but complied. He could hear his dogs howling over in his house and the sound made his heart clench and his gut drop at the same time. A few legends said that howling dogs were an announcement of death and the sound always managed to make Will’s skin crawl even if he didn’t believe in such superstitions. 

“As you can already tell I’m not fond of civilizing.” He said. “All I wanted was a home far away from everyone that could house me and my dogs and I could fish in the nearest river. That’s everything I need to be content.” 

“Not happy?”

“Happiness is a fallacy.” He replied somberly and Hannibal decided to stay silent. 

As Will and Hannibal made their way to the house in the distance, Abigail got up from her laying position while stretching and yawning as Winston looked at her but remained in his place. She was confused for a while as she looked at the empty car before seeing that Hannibal and Will were already ahead. “We’re finally here!” She said with a smile as she made her way out of the car. Winston’s ears perked up like he was hearing something in the distance and it wasn’t the howling of Will’s other dogs. The dog made his way out of the car as Abigail closed the door but he was completely alert, with the hairs on the nape of his neck raised in alarm. Abigail was unaware of the dog’s strange behavior as she made her way towards Hannibal and Will while Winston stayed back as he looked everywhere around him. 

“Why do you think happiness is a fallacy?” Hannibal asked, intrigued. 

“It’s definitely not a constant feeling and the moments in which that sentiment does occur are scarce.”

“But that doesn’t mean that happiness is a fallacy, just that you’ve been accustomed to not being in a state of constant happiness no matter your circumstances.” 

“Are you telling me that you’re in a constant state of happiness?” Hannibal nodded. “Even when your life is shit?” He nodded again and Will chuckled. “And that is the most psychopathic thing you ever said to me and that’s counting when you told me you murder and eat people who are rude to you.” Hannibal joined Will in the laughter and they shared a moment of true happiness between there before the shit hit the fan, like Will would say. 

It all happened in a blur. They’ve heard Winston barking furiously and turned around to see what was happening. Although Hannibal knew that they were being followed, he had been careless for a minute as he bantered with Will. And that was all it took for the man in the shadows to make his move. As Will and Hannibal turned around they had just the time to see the tall and muscular man slitting Abigail’s throat from behind. The girl looked surprised, like she hadn’t seen it coming as she dropped to the ground, clutching at her throat and gurgling as the blood flew out of her in an impressive speed. Will yelled her name as he saw her going down and Winston went to her as the man made his way towards Will and Hannibal. The man was taller than both of them which as an impressive feat since they weren’t short. 

“I’m the Great Red Dragon!” The man yelled before charging at them. 

Will instantly looked for his shotgun but he had left it in the car. He had a gun in his house but he was sure that he would not be able to get there. Will could feel his eyes burning with the unshed tears so he wiped off the moistness on his forearm and looked at Hannibal. The man’s face looked impassive as always but there was something burning behind his irises. Hannibal was also unarmed – or so Will thought; his ax had been left somewhere else, probably by the totem of corpses or mostly likely in the car as well. A moment of silence passed between the two before they also charged towards the Dragon. Hannibal hit the man first and managed to make him unstable for a moment but got a slash to his cheekbone that made him stumble. Will was almost surprised that the man’s cheekbones weren’t actually made of something cutting. With Hannibal’s help Will was able to drop the man to the ground and managed to put his hands around the man’s throat, choking him for a moment. From up close Will could see that the man was quite handsome and that he had a deep scar tissue above his thin lips, denouncing that he most probably suffered of a cleft lip. He probably had speech impediments as well, Will thought for a second before the man lodged his knife in his cheek, causing Will to stumble and fall away from the man. The knife was still stuck to his face as he took his hand to the injured spot and his hand came away dripping in blood. The pain was excruciating and if he survived, he would probably have a terrible scar as well. 

Will gritted his teeth and pulled the knife from the injury with a bloodcurdling scream. His hand was slippery because of all the blood he was losing and he was feeling a little dizzy as well, but now he had a weapon. 

The man got up from the ground and Will made eye contact with Hannibal, which was behind the Dragon. With a single nod they both charged at the same time towards the Dragon. Will from the front and Hannibal from the back. 

At the same time that Hannibal jumped on the man’s back and closed his teeth in the Dragon’s carotid artery, Will disemboweled the man with his own knife. Blood rained down from above soaking Will in the red liquid and leaving him looking like a death god amidst his own chaos. It was beautiful, Hannibal thought as he let the man’s body hit the ground and bleed out. They looked at each other for a moment and Hannibal stepped forward to kiss him when Winston howled and broke the moment. Will looked back and ran towards where Abigail’s body lay with Hannibal right behind him. The girl was gasping her last breaths when they got to her and kneeled on the bloody ground. 

“Abigail.” Will whispered, finally letting the tears run down his face as he cradled the girl’s head in his lap. 

The girl tried to say his name but only a bubble of blood came out of her mouth. 

“There’s nothing we can do.” Hannibal kneeled next to Will and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I never wanted it to end like this.” 

They waited together as Abigail gave her final breaths and as she died, Winston started howling at the clearing sky. Will wiped his tears and slowly let her body rest on the ground, closing her blue eyes with his fingers before he got up. 

“I’m so sorry, Will.” Hannibal whispered and Will turned around to look at him. Will’s blue eyes were dark with something that Hannibal found both thrilling and worrying. 

“What do you mean you never wanted it to end this way?” He asked. Hannibal remained silent. “You knew we were being followed, didn’t you?” 

“I did.” There was no point in lying, Will already knew the truth, he could see it in Hannibal’s eyes and that was immensely thrilling for Hannibal. Nobody had ever seen him before, not truly. But Will had from the start. 

“It’s your fault she’s dead, I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you.” He said in between gritted teeth. 

“I didn’t kill her.” He said but it was not the right thing to say because in a moment Will had a knife to his throat. The morning sun was already rising, giving Will’s eyes a feral glint and making Hannibal week at the knees with the sight. Something in Hannibal wanted to drop to his knees and offer himself to be a sacrificial lamb to Will’s righteous fury but he remained in place. “I understand that you’re upset.” 

“You can’t understand, Hannibal. You’re incapable of understanding feelings.” He hissed out, pressing the knife even further in Hannibal’s neck and drawing a little blood. 

“She was my daughter too, Will.” He whispered. 

Will was going to say something else, maybe cuss him out or slit his throat but the siren blasted, announcing the ending of the annual purge. Will remained with the knife at Hannibal’s throat. 

“Are you going to kill me Will?” Hannibal asked. “If you do it now you’ll be officially a murderer.” 

“I’ll be officially a murderer no matter what, you’ve insured it.” He said. 

“Not in the eyes of the law.” He said. “For the law today you’ve purged but you and I both know the truth. We both know that you liked it.” 

He pressed the knife even further into Hannibal’s neck, causing a steady little stream of blood to pour out. 

“It was beautiful.” Will whispered with wet eyes. 

“It truly was.” Hannibal whispered back. 

Will took the knife away from Hannibal’s neck and stepped back from his body. “Go away, Dr. Lecter. I don’t want to ever see you again. I'm not going to miss you. I'm not going to find you. I'm not going to look for you. I don't want to know where you are or what you do. I don't want to think about you anymore.”

“Will… You delight in wickedness and then berate yourself for the delight.”

“You delight. I tolerate. I don't have your appetite. Goodbye, Hannibal. Let me mourn my daughter in piece.” 

“You’re lying to yourself if you think you don’t have my appetite.” Hannibal whispers. “I’ll go. For now. But this isn’t over Will and sooner or later you’ll realize that you do miss me because I’m the only one who can truly understand you.” 

With that, Hannibal walked away leaving the house, their dead daughter and the love of his life behind. For now. Because for as long as the purge night continued Will and Hannibal would be linked. And Hannibal didn’t intend to let Will go that easily. He had gotten a little taste of what his life could be and Hannibal was a man of indulgencies. He would see this through no matter the cost and Will would accept his fate eventually. He only needed a little push. 

As he walked away, Hannibal made a little mental note to call his old friend Jack Crawford at the BAU so he could offer his services at the upcoming crime scenes provided by the Ripper. 

He had some work to do.


End file.
